


Run Away

by Twentythreefandoms



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Based off 3x10, Canon Era, Farmer Arthur, M/M, Merlin AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-25
Updated: 2014-01-25
Packaged: 2018-01-09 22:49:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1151731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twentythreefandoms/pseuds/Twentythreefandoms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur's dream was a run away and be a farmer. And sometimes an idiotic manservant with a secret for performing sorcery is the only one who can make him realize it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Run Away

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a preface to 3x10, where Arthur tells Gwen about his dream as a farmer. So this probably happens sort of in the middle after he decides this dream of his. This isn't an original idea, and I don't take credit for this idea (as a whole), but instead this is my little spin on how I thought it could have happened for Arthur and Merlin. :)

“If you could do anything,” Merlin ventured to the Prince as the two rode side by side in the forest on the way back from another unsuccessful hunting trip, “what would you do?”

  
Arthur regarded Merlin as if he had just recently grown two heads, “What do you mean, if I could do anything, Merlin?” Arthur sniffed and looked straight ahead, distantly seeing Camelot on the horizon, “I’m the Prince, I can do whatever I want.”

  
Merlin rolled his eyes (affectionately), “But if you weren’t the Prince, you clotpole. If you didn’t have to rule because of your bloodline, what would you do?”

  
The question caught Arthur off guard, for he had never been asked that before, and he had grown up to never think of anything else other than what was expected of the Pendragon name, “I… I dunno, I guess. Never really thought about it.” A short pause, “Why?”

  
Merlin shrugged in a way that sent a calming happiness throughout Arthur’s body, “I just couldn’t imagine you doing anything else.”

Arthur furrowed his brows, “What do you mean by that exactly?”

  
“Well, namely, you’re too big of a prat for anyone to accept you other than a King.”

  
“ _MER_ LIN!”

 

* * *

 

A fire somehow always brought Merlin and Arthur closer together, the flames bringing warmth to the two men to the point where they forgot their titles and were able to speak as friends, and this fire did no differently. Another recurring trait in their fireside chats was their isolation from the outside world, including the rest of the knights, who always conveniently go to bed before the two men decide to finally speak. This fire one night on a cool fall eve wasn’t a modest one, so the two couldn’t be blamed if they wanted to share heat and sit next to each other, their dry hands lingering desperately over the fire, begging the element to bring warmth.

  
“You know,” Arthur spoke first, eyeing Merlin out of the corner of his eyes, “I’ve been thinking about what you asked me… about what I wanted to do…”

  
Merlin perked up at the mention of the conversation, “Oh yeah? Come up with anything interesting?”

  
“A farmer.” Arthur said simply.

  
Merlin let out a loud gasp of air, something that was probably supposed to be mistaken for laughing, causing Arthur to glare at his manservant, “What?” Arthur retorted.

The younger man continued to smile as he shook his head, “What the hell would you do as a farmer? You realize that involves work, don’t you?”

  
“Of course I realize that, _Mer_ lin, though I am curious as to how you know what work is, considering you’re the worst manservant in these five kingdoms.”

  
Merlin flipped his hands so the palms were facing up, showing Arthur their calloused texture, “It’s not always a fairytale, working for the Prince.” Merlin smiled softly, and once again Arthur was left silenced by his servant, “What would you do anyways? I thought you said that life would bore you, remember?”

  
Arthur chuckled, “Yes, but that was different. It was my first experience with simplicity, and the notion of it scared me, to be honest. But ever since you asked me about what I really wanted to do, I couldn’t help but picture myself in Ealdor, waking up to the sounds of birds, not merchants, and putting in a hard day’s work in the field was your only source of hardship.” Arthur lost himself in his vision, plotting his life out behind his words.

  
“It’s not always what it cracks up to be.” Merlin murmured softly.

  
“Well, that’s why I’d bring you.” Arthur grinned, but behind Arthur and Merlin’s slight blushes and joking exterior, there seemed to be an underlying consensus between the two.

  
“You’d probably get sick of it quickly.” Merlin responded, not sure if he was referring to the change of lifestyle or with whom he wanted to spend it.

  
“How so?” Arthur asked curiously. “Life’s simple there. No one would know who I was. I would just be Arthur.”

  
“Fate always has a sneaky way of catching up to you in the end,” he replied. “No matter where you go.”

 

* * *

 

“Do you think brown is a good color on me, Merlin?” Arthur asked his manservant as he held a ragged looking tunic up for Merlin to see.

  
Merlin had to pull away from Arthur’s lack of a shirt and regard the hideous condition of the tunic that the prince was showing him, “Where on earth did you get that??” he couldn’t help but ask Arthur.

  
“I gave a commoner a week’s supply of rice for it,” Arthur replied, walking closer to Merlin so he could see the shirt closer, “I thought it would fit me well.”

  
“Yes, but why did you buy it, Arthur? The thing looks like it’s about to tear apart.”

  
A small frown was placed on Arthur’s face, “Nevermind. It was stupid of me to think it.”

  
Merlin instantly regretted his earlier choice of words, “Forgive me, I didn’t mean to make fun of it… I was just curious.”

  
Arthur twirled the fabric in his hands, but still refused to say anything.

  
“Arthur?” Merlin couldn’t help but ask.

  
“I guess when I saw it, I could imagine me wear it,” Arthur said hesitantly, “if I wasn’t who I was.”

  
Realization dawned on Merlin and he no longer regretted his earlier choice of words, but ever being born. “Arthur… I’m sorry. It’s really fine, the material.” Merlin held up his blue tunic, “Actually, it’s probably better than mine!”

  
The change in tone seemed to have lifted Arthur’s spirits up slightly, but when he put the brown tunic in his wardrobe it was with much less care than before, and he never brought it up again.

 

* * *

 

That following spring in Camelot brought a widespread epidemic of an unknown illness, infecting many far and wide throughout the kingdom, and not everyone was guarded from it’s grasp. It all started with Arthur coughing once or twice during a meeting with his father, causing Merlin’s interest in the prince’s health to pique. The sorcerer had brought Arthur some water, but even that didn’t seem to be working, worrying Merlin more.

  
By the time that Arthur was released and the two had made it back to the prince’s royal chambers, the blonde had started to sway towards the table where his lunch waited for him, but as he was about to reach it he stumbled to the floor, too quickly for Merlin to catch him.

  
“Arthur!” Merlin exclaimed, rushing after the prince who now laid unconscious on the stone floor, his body heated with fever. Merlin cupped Arthur’s face with his hands, wiping away the perspiration that was building on his face as he cried out for someone to get Gaius. “You’re going to be okay,” Merlin promised as he picked Arthur up with great force and placed him on his bed, right as Gaius appeared with the medicine bag.

  
“It’s just like the others, Gaius,” Merlin told him, not letting go of Arthur’s wrist as Gaius inspected the prince.

  
A grave face fell over the old physician after a minute of doing tests on Arthur, “You’re right, Merlin. Whatever’s out there, Arthur has caught it.”

  
“You’ve been working on a cure, right??” Merlin asked desperately.

  
Gaius didn’t reply.

  
“Gaius?! You have to do something!” He begged.

  
“I’ll give him a remedy to make him feel comfortable.” Was all Gaius said, leaving a tear-stained Merlin still clutching to his prince. He looked at Arthur’s still body, the only thing moving was his chest rising and falling rapidly, and he knew that he wasn’t going to give up on Arthur.

  
“Listen, Arthur.” Merlin croaked, leaning closer so he was able to bring Arthur’s hand to his cheek, “You’re going to make it, you hear me? I’m not letting you go.” A soft smile appeared on his face, “We’ll run away, yeah? We’ll find a nice farm, I’ll even do all the work. Just like you wanted. Just…” Merlin steadied himself, “Please. For me. Live.” He placed a soft kiss to Arthur’s hand and lowered it back to the bed, right as the king announced himself, followed by Gaius who was momentarily stunned by the slight show of affection from Merlin, but the king seemed not to have noticed, but only had eyes for the prince’s condition.

  
“Leave me with my son.” Uther ordered, barely registering the fact that Merlin was there.

  
Merlin hesitated, his devotion to Arthur desperately needing him to stay with his prince, but the fierce glare from the king and Gaius’ impatient shuffle towards the door left Merlin with no choice but to follow his mentor, only able to glance once more at Arthur before unwillingly leaving.

  
Neither Merlin or Gaius spoke a word until they reached their little home in the castle, but it surprised Merlin that it was the older man who broke the silence, “You can’t be that open with your feelings, Merlin.” He said quietly.

  
Merlin blushed, “What are you talking about?”

  
Gaius raised an eyebrow, “I’m no stranger to forbidden romances, but this is entirely different. This includes the Prince of Camelot!”

  
“Arthur and I don’t have a romance!” Merlin countered, red from top to bottom. “At least, I don’t think we do.” He added much quietly.

  
Gaius sighed and had Merlin sit beside him on Gaius’ cot, “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. There’s no denying it.” Merlin continued to blush furiously, “But you know it can’t continue, don’t you?”

  
Merlin thought of leaving with Arthur, and fulfilling Arthur’s dream of becoming a farmer, and being happy living simply. But then he thought of their destiny, of what Merlin and Arthur would bring to the five kingdoms; peace, equality, and freedom, and he knew that Gaius was right. It was Merlin’s duty to be by Arthur’s side, and Arthur was meant to be in Camelot, no matter how much it pained him to think it.

  
Merlin was about to speak, but then a guard rushed into Gaius’ chambers with a frantic look on his face, “The king has sent me for you. It’s Arthur. His heart is barely beating anymore and he’s gasping for breath!”

  
“No,” Merlin gasped, and without a second to spare Merlin broke from Gaius’ side and ran to Arthur’s chambers. However, when he arrived he was stopped dead when he saw the king weeping as he clutched his still son.

  
“Arthur,” Merlin choked, his sight growing less in focus by the second, but he still stumbled forward, needing to be by Arthur’s side.

  
“What is Arthur’s manservant doing here?!” Uther growled when he saw Merlin getting closer to Arthur. “I order you to leave!”

  
“No,” Merlin sobbed, his vision going black.

  
“What did you say to me?” Uther seethed.

  
“NO!!” Merlin bellowed, dropping to his knees at the foot of Arthur’s bed as he released more outward cries, unknowingly emitting all of his magic so that every window in Arthur’s chambers exploded on impact, every candle was lit with ten foot flames, every piece of furniture was tossed about like a ragdoll except for the prince’s bed, and it happened in waves all originating from Merlin.

  
Merlin felt the last bit of his strength leave his body and he collapsed on the ground, the last thing he saw as he blinked away his tears were many pairs of hands gripping his clothing, dragging him away from Arthur at the command of the king.

  
And before he fell unconscious, the last thing he heard was a loud shuddering gasp.

 

* * *

 

Merlin was awoken suddenly by the freezing water thrown on him by the Camelot guards, sending icy shivers down his spine as he came to consciousness. He spluttered and blinked away the water from his eyes, only to have them focus on a blonde head staring emotionlessly at him from the other end of what turned out to be one of the cells.

  
“Leave us,” Arthur told the guards with a passing glance, not taking his eyes off of a soaked Merlin.

  
As the guards left with a respective nod, Merlin couldn’t help but forget his location and grin despite the situation, “Arthur! You’re alive!” He went to get up but found himself shackled to the wall by iron chains. “Arthur?” He asked, resisting against the metal as his confusion finally started to seep into him. The prince didn’t respond, he merely sat on the cot, staring at Merlin with unreadable eyes flicking across the wet sorcerer. “What… what’s going on?”

  
“I was as good as dead, Merlin.” Arthur finally spoke up, “I didn’t have a heartbeat, and my pulse was all but stopped, until something saved me.”

  
Merlin furrowed his eyebrows and remained silent, gaining a heavy sigh from the prince.

  
“I know you have magic.”

  
The sorcerer blushed furiously and looked down at his lap, “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  
Arthur rolled his eyes, “You were always such a bad liar. I can’t believe I never caught on.”

  
Merlin remained quiet for a moment, “What did I do?” Merlin whispered down to his lap, unable to look at Arthur.

  
He heard shuffling and the next thing he knew Arthur was kneeling on the stone floor, looking eye level to his manservant, “You saved me.” Arthur raised his hand and rested it under Merlin’s chin, forcing the younger boy to look at him, “I don’t know what you did, but I felt it. I can’t describe it, but one minute I was nearly dead and the next I’m filled with this life, and as I felt myself pull back to consciousness, the only thing I could think of was how you were the one that was giving it to me.” Arthur suddenly looked grim, “And when I opened my eyes, I saw them drag your unconscious body away, and that’s when my father told me about what you did. He said that you used sorcery and had you taken away and thrown in here. I told him that it was your magic that saved my life, but he won’t listen. He says all sorcerers are the same, and I used to think that, until I saw the good that it can bring from the right person.”

  
Merlin couldn’t have cared what happened to him after this moment, for this was all that he could have wanted; he just wanted Arthur to see the good in sorcery, that when used with love for love, it can be just as great an element than any other. But Merlin’s optimistic smile didn’t change Arthur’s grim demeanor, “Arthur, what is it?”  
“My father has ordered your execution in the morning.” He muttered, shiny eyes meeting Merlin’s.

  
A bizarre calm coursed through Merlin’s veins, even to the point of it being psychotic, but he couldn’t feel fear for his life when it was Arthur’s that had mattered the entire time. The sorcerer had saved his prince, and now he must pay the price for his doing. A sad smile appeared on Merlin’s face as he pulled Arthur’s body close to him, leaning his forehead against the prince’s and just breathed in and out, “It’s okay. You’re safe. You’re alive. That’s all that matters.”

  
Arthur ripped away from Merlin like he electrocuted him, “All that matters?!” He hissed, wiping away furious tears from his cheeks, “What, so you’re not going to fight, is that it? Unlike every single time where you have that irritating optimism that gets us out of everything, and now you’re just going to give up?”

  
Merlin remained in a stunned silence.

  
Arthur leaned in close to Merlin once again, “Can’t you… do _something_ … to get out? You could go somewhere and be safe!” Arthur was looking desperate, and Merlin looked down when he felt pressure on his hands, only to discover Arthur was grasping them, their fingers entwined.

  
“My place is here with you.” Merlin choked, “Anywhere else would be worse than death.”

  
Arthur groaned, “You were always such a martyr, weren’t you?”

  
Merlin laughed through his tears, “Were you expecting someone else?”

  
Arthur rolled his eyes, “And I’m going to have to live with this clotpole.”

  
Merlin sniffed back some tears as he looked at Arthur incredulously, “Err, what?” He couldn’t help but ask.

  
The prince leaned impossibly close to Merlin, his breath tickling Merlin’s neck as he whispered into his ear, “Midnight. Wait for me. I’ll be here.”

  
Before Merlin could protest, or even acknowledge how close the prince had been to him, Arthur was striding out of the cell and once he rounded the corner and out of sight, Merlin was left alone to do nothing but hope.

 

* * *

 

The moon was shining high in the sky, the night was half over, his execution mere hours away, and yet Merlin still hadn’t seen any sign from Arthur. The sorcerer gripped the cold cell bars and waited, for it was all he could do. The guard had long since fallen asleep, much to Merlin’s annoyance. It would have been effortless for him to escape, much like everyone who has ever attempted to break free, but Arthur had told him to wait for him, so that’s what he would do.

  
A quiet shuffle of feet broke the empty silence and piqued Merlin’s curiosity, blinking rapidly and trying to adjust to the dark tunnel, “Arthur?” He couldn’t help but call out softly.

  
“Would you shut up, Merlin?” Arthur huffed, grabbing his keys and unlocking the cell, “You’re the worst escapist ever.”

  
Merlin couldn’t help but grin as Arthur held the door open, giving off the appearance of irritation but an underlying sense of “I’m glad to see you, too” was apparent. He also couldn’t help but notice that the prince was wearing the old brown tunic he had purchased from the farmer, causing Merlin’s heart to jump. What was his purpose of wearing that if he was only helping Merlin leave the kingdom? “I’ll make sure to remember that for next time.”

  
Arthur held back a snort and pulled Merlin by the elbow as they zig-zagged through the dungeon tunnels and out of the castle without a single hiccup. It was too easy, “Why wasn’t anyone guarding the castle?” Merlin asked as Arthur led the couple to a pair of horses with multiple bags on each outside of the city walls, “And why are there two horses?”

  
Arthur blushed deeply, which was evident even in the lack of daylight, “I may have told Leon to do me a favor that included the night watch for a couple hours.” Merlin continued to stare at him until he answered the second question, “And I’m coming with you.”

  
“What?!” Merlin nearly squeaked, but managed to refrain himself with help from a warning glare from Arthur. “Arthur, you can’t be serious.”

  
“Unfortunately I am, _Mer_ lin, so do your prince a kind favor and shut up,” Arthur replied briskly, as if his manservant had insulted him.

  
“But Arthur, you belong here, as a king to Camelot! You have a destiny--”

  
“I don’t care about my destiny anymore!” Arthur sighed, “When you’ve spent all your life trying to live up to someone else’s grand expectations on how to do everything right, sometimes you get sick of it. Well, I didn’t know I was sick of it until you started giving me options and making me think, you idiot.” Arthur tried to insult Merlin, but a small smile crept up on his lips that gave him away.

  
“So what are you going to do, then?” Merlin couldn’t help but ask.

  
“We,” Arthur enunciated, “are going to a nice farm at the southern edge of the kingdom. I heard it’s a bit of a fixer upper, but there’s lots of land for horses, a barn for chickens and cows and dogs…” Arthur stopped talking at the sight of a stunned Merlin, causing the prince to clear his throat and rethink all of his life choices, “That is, if you want. I can understand if you don’t want to be seen with the prince of Camelot--”

  
Arthur was unexpectedly cut off by a pair of lips crashing against his own, and his eyes flew open when he saw that those lips were connected to Merlin. He barely had time to register this fact before Merlin backed away, his eyes wide and staring unblinkingly at the grass under his boots. “I… I’m sorry.”

  
A wide grin appeared on Arthur’s face as Merlin finally gained the courage to look up at Arthur, “Do I take it that’s a yes for Farm Pendragon?” The prince asked.  
Merlin scoffed and shoved his shoulder into the blonde’s, “Prat.”

  
He went to mount his horse, but Arthur’s hand caught his own and he looked back to see a soft smiling Arthur. “Wh-” Merlin began to ask, but Arthur softly pressed his lips to Merlin’s, causing Merlin to sigh into the kiss and pull the blonde closer to him.

  
“You know we really need to go?” Arthur asked against Merlin’s lips.

  
Merlin pulled away and nodded, “Yeah. Yeah, alright.” He agreed, a stupid grin stuck on his face. “Let’s go.”


End file.
